Why the NY Mets want Carlos Beltran to play again this season

John Munson/The Star-LedgerCarlos Beltran will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday with Class-A Brooklyn.

DENVER -- Carlos Beltran wouldn't seem to have much left to play for this season, with the Mets in tatters and Beltran coming off a knee injury. Yet the center fielder will begin a rehab assignment at Class-A Brooklyn on Wednesday night, putting him on track to return to the Mets next week.

So why does Beltran want to return, and why would the Mets let him? In essence, Beltran will be playing for peace of mind -- both his and the team's.

An MRI taken Monday showed that the bone bruise in Beltran's right knee had improved significantly enough for doctors to clear him to play. And Beltran had been rehabbing without pain for a few weeks. So the Mets don't believe they are putting Beltran at risk.

And by allowing him to return for the last few weeks of the regular season, the Mets are hoping to eliminate any questions about his health going into 2010.

"Carlos feels pretty strongly about this," Mets assistant GM John Ricco said Tuesday afternoon at Coors Field. "The benefit of now that you're deemed to be healthy, and feeling pretty good, and cleared to play, the benefit of him getting back on the field at the end of this season and heading into the offseason, knowing where he is physically, I think that's the thought process here for both the club and him."

Manager Jerry Manuel said he wasn't sure what Beltran's schedule would be after Wednesday. But normally, he said a position player would typically play three rehab games then take a day off before being activated.

The Cyclones play at Hudson Valley on Thursday, then return home to host a three-game series against Lowell over the weekend. So assuming Beltran skips the two-hour drive to Wappingers Falls, N.Y., on Thursday, he could play again Friday and Saturday, take Sunday off and come off the DL on Monday.

Either way, with the minor-league season in its final week, Beltran figures to be back by sometime next week if all goes well in Brooklyn.

His return might not mean much for 2009. But Manuel said he hopes it is beneficial for 2010.

"I think for him and for us and for our fans, [the purpose] is to, like I said, answer questions before we get to spring training, get those questions out of the way," Manuel said. "This guy's ready to play. Going to spring training, you don't say, 'Hey, Jerry, what do you think about Beltran? How's he going to do?' I think it's good that our fans will see some of those guys out on the field. I think that's a plus."